The present invention generally relates to parsing medical data. In particular, the present invention relates to a system and method for parsing medication instructions.
Hospitals typically utilize computer systems to manage the various departments within a hospital and data about each patient is collected by a variety of computer systems. For example, a patient may be admitted to the hospital for a Transthoracic Echo (TTE). Information about the patient (e.g., demographics and insurance) could be obtained by the hospital information system (HIS) and stored on a patient record. This information could then be passed to the cardiology department system (commonly known as the cardio vascular information system, or CVIS). Typically the CVIS is a product of one company, while the HIS is the product of another company. As a result, the database between the two may be different. Further, information systems may capture/retain and send different levels of granularity in the data. Once the patient information has been received by the CVIS, the patient may be scheduled for a TTE in the echo lab. Next, the TTE is performed by the sonographer. Images and measurements are taken and sent to the CVIS server. The reading physician (e.g., an echocardiographer) sits down at a review station and pulls the patient's TTE study. The echocardiographer then begins to review the images and measurements and creates a complete medical report on the study. When the echocardiographer completes the medical report, the report is sent to the CVIS server where it is stored and associated with the patient through patient identification data. This completed medical report is an example of the kind of report that could be sent to a data repository for public data mining. Medication instructions, such as documentation and/or prescription, may also be generated electronically and saved in a data repository.
Today, medical device manufacturers and drug companies face an ever-growing challenge in collecting clinical data on the real-life utilization of their products. As patient medical reports are becoming computerized, the ability to obtain real-life utilization data becomes easier. Further, the data is easier to combine and analyze (e.g., mine) for greater amounts of useful information.
As medical technology becomes more sophisticated, clinical analysis may also become more sophisticated. Increasing amounts of data are generated and archived electronically. With the advent of clinical information systems, a patient's history may be available at a touch of a button. While accessibility of information is advantageous, time is a scarce commodity in a clinical setting. To realize a full benefit of medical technological growth, it would be highly desirable for clinical information to be organized and standardized.
Even if clinical or image-related information is organized, current systems often organize data in a format determined by developers that is unusable by one or more medical practitioners in the field. Additionally, information may be stored in a format that does not lend itself to data retrieval and usage in other contexts. Thus, a need exists to structure data and instructions in a way that is easier to comprehend and utilize.
Prescriptions written by a physician include information such as medication, formulation (e.g., liquid, tablet, capsule), dosage (e.g., how many formulations), route (e.g., oral), duration, frequency/interval, and/or qualifiers (e.g., as needed or as directed). An electronic medical record system, such as Logician®, may standardize and/or process information such as medication, form, and quantity (e.g., Ibuprofen 100 mg tablets), but the remainder of the prescription is typically free form (e.g., a free form text string). If some information is known, other prescription information may be determined (e.g., a number of pills and how many pills to take per day provides duration). Thus, a system for processing free form prescription information would be highly desirable.
Medical technicians and clinical systems work with physicians ordering prescriptions and documenting medications in electronic medical records, for example. Third party knowledge bases have complete lists of medications that patients may purchase, including dosage, form, and route. However, it is not enough to only know dosage, form, and route information. It is important to know how often the medication should be taken and how much of the medication should be taken. This and other information may be found in significant instructions or “sigs” entered by a prescribing physician.
Sigs are not currently standardized and vary from physician to physician. However, information such as dosage, form, and route is typically standardized. Thus, a clean, clear and complete instruction for administration of a medicine would be highly desirable. Additionally, a reliable system for reading and interpreting sigs would be highly desirable. Improved reliability in sig interpretation is important for patient safety. Reliable reading and storing of sigs would also improve quality of patient care. Reduced error in sig translation also saves money for healthcare providers, pharmacies, and insurers. Structured data capture of a sig interpretation may facilitate data mining and decision support, for example.
In an electronic medical record or report, clear information is desirable, but many physicians will not use a system that requires them to be too neat and structured in inputting data and instructions. Many physicians prefer free form instruction drafting. Thus, a system that balances between natural and structured language would be highly desirable. Additionally, it would be desirable to accommodate abbreviations and medical jargon (e.g., “1 po qd”=“one tablet by mouth once a day”), as well as multiple variants of commonly used instructions. Thus, a system for efficient and effective translation of varied commands, notes, and instructions into finite, discrete, quantitative information would be highly desirable.
Therefore, there is a need for a system and method for processing medication instructions.